R-rated computer games ban to stay

8 November 2002 — 11:00am

Plans to allow R-rated computer and video games into Australia were scuppered yesterday at a meeting of attorneys-general, with opposition led by the Federal Government.

Despite having supported the proposal a year ago, Attorney-General Daryl Williams yesterday declared himself to be against an expansion of the classification range for violent and sexually explicit interactive games.

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The amendment would have allowed games with graphic images of realistic violence, implied sexual violence and unlimited coarse language to be sold in Australia.

At present, these games are banned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) because the video-game classification system only goes up to MA - available to purchasers over the age of 15.

This classification only allows medium-intensity violence, "crude" language and sexual references, and games exceeding these limits are refused classification.

The attorneys-general met in Fremantle, Western Australia, until late last night, but Mr Williams' spokeswoman said it was his intention to oppose the scheme because of concerns that violence in interactive games had a greater influence on behaviour than violence in films.

"The Commonwealth position is that it will not support the expansion of the R18 classification to computer games, in view of the interactive nature of computer games," the spokeswoman said.

"It's appropriate to have a stricter regime in relation to this area ... (as) the likelihood of children gaining access to adult computer games increases if the material is legally available."

In order to change the regime, all nine attorneys would have to agree unanimously, so Mr Williams' opposition, teamed with at least one other attorney - from South Australia - will defeat the reforms.

The changes were recommended after a public review conducted by the OFLC last year.

Industry submissions to the review had argued that the current classification scheme, stricter than that applying to film, was out of date.

"There is a perception that video games are only for children," said Beverly Jenkin, chief executive of the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, yesterday.

"But more than 70 per cent of players in Australia are older than 18, and 20 per cent are more than 39 years old. That's a natural progression of the first generation of computer users."

Last month, the OFLC banned the game BMX XXX on the grounds that it used explicit nudity. In one option, the bike-riding game allows players to adopt the character of a naked woman.

Opposition to the proposal during the OFLC review came principally from church and community groups.

The attorneys' summit, which was not attended yesterday by Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls because the government is in caretaker mode, is also considering changes to the film classification system.

These changes include splitting the G classification into two and creating a new G8+ class for films too scary or boring for children younger than eight.